Small Business Saturday Nov. 26

You know about Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but American Express has created a new campaign to rival them both and promote small businesses at the same time. Next Saturday is now Small Business Saturday, a day where consumers are encouraged to shop at their favorite local business, and we are here to tell you how to get involved.

American Express is offering lots of free advertising to promote both Small Business Saturday and your local business. If you were thinking of passing on Small Business Saturday, think again. Here is a summary of the great offers American Expresss is giving away to small businesses.

• Free in-store signage
• A Shop Small badge for your website and emails
• Free Facebook ads for your business (this aspect of the offer ends this week, so register ASAP)

There are thousands of business participating in Small Business Saturday, so you will want to make yourself stand out, you'll have to do something special. At Yext, our job is to help businesses stand out by correcting and enhancing their presence on local search engines, and we've come up with some tips on how you can separate yourself form the competition this Saturday.

• Give a special discount
• Offer new merchandise
• Have a special in-store event.

American Express suggests you share this offer with their Go Social app, and they are also offering their customers (and yours) a $25 statement credit for participating.

The only real reason not to participate in this event is if your business does not currently accept American Express. Yes, American Express does have higher fees than other cards, but they are increasingly devoted to small business. Promotions like this one help small businesses get new customers, and Small Business Saturday is likely to be one of many similar promotions to assist small business in these tough times.